ninjas | Geekscape

Next ‘Splatoon’ Splatfest Is Pirates Vs. Ninjas!

by The_aczOctober 23, 2015

Pirates vs. Ninjas. Pick a side and fight for glory in the next Splatfest, starting at 9 PM PT on 10/30. #Splatoon pic.twitter.com/zLG4hiVrTt

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 23, 2015

Nintendo has just announced the date and time for their new Splatfest, and boy is it a doozy.

The new Splatfest will take place on October 30th at 9:00 PM PST, and will go through until 9:00 PM PST, just in time for Halloween night. Which side will you choose? (Pirates all the way!)

Hey, New York: Subway Cinema & Anthology Archives Will Unleash Ninjas at OLD SCHOOL KUNG FU FEST 2015!

by Eric FranciscoMarch 24, 2015

Do you walk the streets of New York past coffee bars, vegan bakeries and craft beer pubs while thinking to yourself, “This city needs more ninjas”? You’re in luck. Subway Cinema, the nation’s leading nonprofit dedicated to the celebration and exhibition of Asian pop cinema, has just announced the full program of this year’s Old School Kung-Fu Fest with a deadly theme: NINJAS.

From April 16 to April 19 at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City, you can check out a slew of old school ninja movies from the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s! Best of all, most of the films will be screened in beautiful 35mm prints!

From the press release:

New York, NY, March 24, 2015 – The Old School Kung Fu Fest, a four-day celebration of the rarest, wildest, and most incredible martial arts and action cinema from the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s is back at the Anthology Film Archives for its 5th edition, which is dedicated to the deadliest fighter of them all…the ninja!

Since the dawn of time, man’s natural predator has been the ninja. Hiding in your shower, crouching behind your laptop, clinging to your back — the ninja is everywhere. What killed the dinosaurs? Ninja. What battles great white shark? Ninja. Who is buying flowers for your mom? Probably ninja. But ninja is not vampire! Ninja can be filmed! This year’s Old School Kung Fu Fest examines this crazy natural phenomena of ninja with 14 movies that show you this sneaky fighter in the only place where he cannot shoot throwing stars into your eyes: on the movie screen!

There are serious black-and-white ninjas in the original ninja films Shinobi No MonoParts 1 & 2 (1962 and 1963), super-noir ninjas in 1965’s Samurai Spy, party-colored crazy ninjas from the go-go 80s likeAmerican Ninja 1 & 2 and then be entered, revenged, and dominated by Cannon’s essential ninja trilogy: Enter the Ninja,Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination. Watch brave Chinese people fight ninjas with their guts in Shaw Brothers movies like Five Element Ninjas! See ninjas fly on kites in Duel to the Death! You must see all the ninjas! Because to fight ninja, first you must understand ninja.

Forgive my French, but this is so fucking awesome. I am so there, so if any New York Geekscapists want to check this out with me, reach out to me on Twitter or on our Facebook.

You can check out the entire program here, but I’ve highlighted a few select choices below.

ENTER THE NINJA (1981, USA, 100min, 35mm) Directed by Menahem Golan

Starring: Franco Nero, Susan George, Sho Kosugi, Christopher George.

This landmark Cannon Films production launched the ninja craze of the ‘80s and revitalized the martial arts film in America after it died in 1973 with Bruce Lee. When 20th Century Fox announced they were shooting a $20 million adaptation of best-selling novel, The Ninja, Cannon flipped out and bought their very own ninja script from martial artist Mike Stone and rushed this movie into production. Starring Frano Nero (the original Django) as a white ninja with a thick Maurizio Merli mustache, it’s shot in the Philippines where Nero helps an old buddy (and his old buddy’s hot girlfriend, Susan “Straw Dogs” George) take on evil real estate developer, Mr. Venarius (Christopher George). Only a ninja can defeat a ninja, so the bad guys hire Sho Kosugi, who got his start as an extra on this film before his martial arts abilities earned him the role of the evil ninja. Showtimes: Thu, April 16 at 6:15pm.

REVENGE OF THE NINJA (1983, USA, 90min, Digital projection) Directed by Sam Firstenberg

Starring: Sho Kosugi, Keith Vitali, Virgil Frye.

Cannon followed the box office success of Enter the Ninja with Revenge of the Ninja, the first American movie to give an Asian actor sole star billing (even Bruce Lee had to share billing with his co-stars in Enter the Dragon). Sho Kosugi (a ninja!) returns home from an afternoon stroll to find his family massacred by evil ninjas. With his mother and infant son in tow he flees Japan for Los Angeles, vowing to forsake the ninja life forever. With the help of his friend and business partner, Keith Vitali (a karate legend who fought onscreen in several 80s Hong Kong movies), he opens an art gallery, specializing in fancy Japanese dolls. What Sho doesn’t know is that his friend is actually an evil ninja who wears a silver demon mask and is smuggling heroin into the country inside the dolls! Sho is just trying to raise his ninja son (played by his real-life son, Kane Kosugi), but now he has to deal with a grindhouse full of dead bodies, fountains of blood, cheap 80s sex scenes, mafia stereotypes, and dueling ninjas!

Showtimes: Fri, April 17 at 6:00pm.

FIVE ELEMENT NINJAS, aka CHINESE SUPER NINJAS五遁忍術 (1982, Hong Kong, 103 minutes, 35mm, in Mandarin with English subtitles) Directed by Chang Cheh

Starring: Ricky Cheng Tien Chi, Lo Meng, Lung Tien-chiang

In the 80s, Shaw Brothers was losing audiences to TV, so it unleashed Chang Cheh (The One-Armed Swordsman, Five Deadly Venoms) to direct his most insane movie ever. A Chinese martial arts clan is fighting everyone and winning but then they fight ninjas. Ninjas who know Five Element Formation! So secret! So deadly! The only survivor learns that in order to beat ninja…he must become ninja! Ninja fights using Gold Powers, Wood Powers, Water Powers, Earth Powers, Fire Powers! Chinese martial artist fights using Hitting Ninjas in Face Power! Trees bleed. Crotches are stabbed. Guts are extracted. Every second of this movie is high-octane man-against-ninja action and it does not end until every inch of the screen is covered in dead ninja. Screening will be introduced by Dan Halsted, who will tell the story of how he unearthed a massive collection of extremely rare 35mm kung fu films in 2009, which included the print of Five Element Ninjas. Showtimes: Sat, April 18 at 5:00pm.

Presented with the Hong Kong the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office New York.

SEVENTEEN NINJA (1963, Japan, 98min, 35mm, in Japanese with live English subtitles) Directed by Yasuto Hasegawa

Cast: Kotaro Satomi, Jushiro Konoe, Yuriko Mishima, Ryutaro Otomo.

Toei’s star-studded response to Daiei’s hugely successful 1960s franchise, Shinobi No Mono, this nocturnal, cynical game of chess between two master manipulators is an amazing and underseen ninja movie that we’re presenting with live subtitles since no English-subtitled version exists. As the ruling Shogun lies on his death futon, seventeen Iga clan ninja are trusted by theirmaster with an impossible mission: to infiltrate the impregnable fortress where his youngest son plans to take both Edo Castle and the supreme power by force. They have two options: to steal the scroll that will grant legitimacy to the usurper’s claim, or to assassinate him. Before they can even reach the stronghold, a vicious ninja hunter thwarts their every move. As the Iga ninja fall, the success of the mission falls in the hands of one young and inexperienced ninja. Showtimes: Sun, April 19 at 1:00pm.

Note: Seventeen Ninja is a super hardcore rarity that very, very few human beings have watched!

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990, USA/Hong Kong, 93min, 35mm) Directed by Steve Barron

Starring: Judith Hoag, Corey Feldman, Elias Koteas, Sam Rockwell

For years Michaelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael have lived deep in the sewers of New York, learning the art of ninjitsu from their mentor, Splinter… ok, we all know the story by now about our favorite pizza-eating humanoid turtles, but the best way to forget about Michael Bay’s lazy and tedious franchise reboot is to come appreciate the first, and still the best, version. Produced by Hong Kong’s Golden Harvest studios (home of Jackie Chan), with the Turtles lovingly brought to life by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, edited by Sally Menke (the editor of every single Quentin Tarantino movie before her untimely death in 2010), and with a theme song by MC Hammer, it’s lean, green, and on the big screen – a CGI-free dose of ninja turtle power! Showtimes: Sun, April 19 at 3:15pm.

There are loads of history to be experienced in the full program, but I highlighted some that I’ll fight tooth and nail to attend. Yes, even Ninja Turtles, which has more merit than one would assume.

I’m so excited, and I am all about Subway Cinema. To celebrate bizarre cinema is my Kool-Aid, and I jumped for joy when this came in my email. From Sho Kosugi to Five Element Ninjas, a staple amongst my cousins and I growing up, I can’t wait for the festival to start. I’ll see you there. Ninja wanisu! [vanishes in thin air, reappears right in front of a moving truck]

‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation’ Concept Art Shows Off “Cobra Island”, Ninjas And The Prison

by Shawn MaddenApril 9, 2013

Concept artist Joshua Min has revealed some of contributions for Jon Chu’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The concept art features designs of the Cobra’s ASC (Army Sustainment Command) Island aka “Cobra Island”, a dojo scene featuring Snake Eyes and some ninjas and the prison. The prison seems to be the same art that was shown in the film’s start.

In this sequel, the G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy, Cobra, they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence. The film stars D.J. Cotrona, Byung-hun Lee, Adrianne Palicki, Ray Park, Jonathan Pryce, RZA, Ray Stevenson, Channing Tatum with Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson. Directed by Jon M. Chu, and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Brian Goldner, written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe® characters.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation is in theaters now.

Source: Joshua Min

Dead Rising Creator Pits Ninjas And Zombies Together In ‘Yaiba’

by Shane O'HareSeptember 14, 2012

Keiji Inafune is best known for being a producer on two of the biggest zombies franchises from Capcom. Resident Evil and Dead Rising. Well now that he has left and created his own company, Comcept, he plans on releasing his own zombie game.

Yaiba is his newest foray into the zombie genre, and what I can gather from the trailer (you can see that below) is it is a third person adventure platformer with a lot of blood involved. So take a look with us!

Nothing else has been announced. Platform and release date remain a mystery.

Everybody’s Gaming For The Weekend Of September 7th, 2012!

by MoreLikeAndySeptember 7, 2012

A couple of weeks away from the onslaught of the Fall gaming season and I have to say that there was never that much downtime for game releases this summer. Marketing may have some of you fooled when it comes to that, but I’d like to think my weekend gaming feature points to otherwise.

Mark of the Ninja – XBLA

Klei Entertainment’s art style with it’s previous titles, Shank and Shank 2, lends itself well to the world of the invisible assassins. Mark of the Ninja‘s stealth system is interesting in that the game makes you feel like the most powerful predator man has ever seen, as long as you stay to the shadows. Once you are spotted, you are brought back down from your pedestal of absolute power and must use all of your abilities, from grappling hooks to smoke bombs, in order to escape.

The button prompt mini-game you have to endure when going in for the kill keeps the button mashers at bay. You can still get the kill, just be prepared to have the victim scream loud enough for someone nearby to hear. As you can tell, sound is also an issue you have to worry about, but you can use it to your advantage to distract guards to get around them. Good option for the pacifist ninja’s out there.

Some will call this an action platformer with stealth. I see Mark of the Ninja as a platform puzzler. With so many choices and tools at your disposal, there are a multitude of ways through the levels. Smoke bombs to obscure laser traps and enemies’ vision, flesh-eating beetles that leave no traces behind and a cardboard box to use as a portable hiding spot. Wonder where the ninjas learned that trick?

Klei Entertainment really did an amazing job with Mark of the Ninja and everyone should play it, then play it again in New Game + mode.

Zen Pinball 2 – PS3, PS Vita

I am loving the cross-buy stuff on the PS3 lately. The latest being one of my favorite development studios for that Zen Studios always puts out a quality pinball game. With Zen Pinball 2, it’s no surprise that the game is great. For the PS3 owners of Zen Pinball and Marvel Pinball, importing those tables are a simple download away before they appear on the easy to use menu on the PS Vita. Zen Pinball 2 is free, but there are no included tables with the game so really it’s not free in the traditional sense. The tables are set a decent price with a demo for each table so you can see if your money will be spent well.

I haven’t tried the PS3 version since playing Zen Pinball 2 on the PS Vita looks so damn gorgeous. Popcap decided to help with the celebrations over at Zen Studios and release a Plants vs. Zombies table. The table seems simple enough but there are enough little mini-games to keep you plenty busy getting the high score. I think on my first play through on the Plants vs. Zombies table, I played for a good 30 minutes. It seems like that table never stops! Only until I have to charge the PS Vita, do I put Zen Pinball 2 down.

White Man Can’t Kick: The Top 10 White Dudes in Martial Arts Stories

by Joe StarrAugust 28, 2012

As long as there have been stories, there have been white people out to prove that they are better at doing whatever it is the people in those stories are doing. And as long as there have been white people that love martial arts, there have been white dudes hanging around the Asian dudes in martial arts stories. Sometimes they’re the hero. Sometimes they’re not. Sometimes they’re awesome at martial arts. Sometimes they’ve got no kung fu at all. And sometimes they’re white, but Hollywood wants you to think that they’re not because no one wanted to hire a Chinese guy for their Chinese guy story.

Here are the best, worst, and most memorable white dudes that the world of fictional martial arts has to offer.

Glacier (WCW)

Pro Wrestling has a long tradition of trying to pinpoint things that are cool in pop culture and incorporating them into the squared circle. Like when Robocop rescued Sting in WCW, or when the WWF pushed wearing leather fanny packs into the main event scene. In the late 90’s, WCW decided that the best way to keep winning the Monday Night Wars was to borrow heavily from the hit video game Mortal Kombat and debuted GLACIER, because nothing screams ‘future of the business’ like a guy in a Sub Zero costume doing sidekicks in the middle of Rupp Arena. WCW spent millions on this white ninja’s entrance, which included laser lights and and synthetic snow. Glacier makes the list because he is the ultimate worst example of white guy Martial Arts: a bunch of white southern guys with no real reference to what makes martial arts great outside of ‘my kid likes this immortal combat game’ trying to create a live action martial arts epic in Hulk Hogan’s backyard. It went GREAT.

Ninja Master Gordon (Cobra vs. Ninja)

The tale of actor Richard Harrison is an interesting one: he was known for his B movie spaghetti westerns when he signed on to do a ninja movie with director Godfrey Ho to cash in on the late 80’s ninja craze, AKA my defining years. Without his knowledge, his scenes were cut up and placed into more than a dozen terrible martial art movies like Cobra vs. Ninja and Ninja Avengers, all billing him as the star. In the IMDB age, I now know of the tragic scam that killed Harrison’s career. But when I was a kid, I only knew him as Ninja Master Gordon, the dude in the bad ass ninja costume that said ‘ninja’ on it that once visited a place called The Unicorn Village.

Billy and Jimmy Lee (Double Dragon)

Talk about handing everything kids in the late’s 80’s/early 90’s loved on a roundhouse kicking platter: punching dudes in the woods, sleeveless vests, and sweet double team moves. Double Dragon was total wish fulfillment for 10 year old boys: if a guy showed up with a weapon you didn’t own, you got to beat the crap out of him and steal it. If you beat the game in co-op mode, Billy and Jimmy fought each other to see who got to bang the chick they just rescued: just like most things involving ten year olds, the game devolves into an argument over who gets to play with the Turtle Blimp.

Also, if you can score 50,000 in Double Dragon, Fred Savage is going to think you’re a pretty big deal.

Roper (Enter the Dragon)

Unlike a lot of white dudes on this list, Roper got to pal around with Bruce Lee. He’s also a fun turncoat character, being tempted with a role in a massive drug trade, as opposed to just being a dude with no sleeves on his vest that’s like ‘you kidnapped my girlfriend! NUNCHUCKS!’ He chooses the Bruce Lee path and the two take an awesome stand in one of the best third act sequences in a martial arts film.

White guys can’t kick, but they can give the best damn thumbs up on the planet. MURICA!

Haggar (Final Fight)

I’ll let Wikipedia’s explanation speak for itself, because I can’t write anything nearly as good:

Chronologically set during the time of the original Street Fighter, Final Fight is set in the fictional American metropolis of Metro City, based on New York City. A former professional wrestler named Mike Haggar is elected as the new Mayor of the city, promising to handle the city’s criminal problem in his campaign. The Mad Gear gang, the dominant criminal organization of the city, plots to bring Haggar under their control by kidnapping his daughter Jessica and using her as leverage against him. Enlisting the help of Cody, Jessica’s boyfriend and an experienced brawler himself, as well as Cody’s sparring partner, a ninja named Guy, Haggar opts to fight the gang instead in order to save his daughter.

Look at this guy’s resume. Haggar may not be the most popular guy on the list but he’s the most accomplished. A pro wrestling champion turned POTUS turned shirtless vigilante? He’s Brock Lesner, Barack Obama, and Batman rolled into one guy. You kids work as hard as Haggar and you can eat all the hamhocks you can find.

Kwai Chang Kaine (Kung Fu)

White people love kung fu but they haven’t always loved Chinese people. The solution? Get David Carradine to kind of squint a little. Carradine was able to spin an entire career out of being the white guy in Martial Arts films. It’s not because he’s particularly good at kung fu. It’s because part of what white people love about martial arts is the mysticism, and what Dave lacked in being Chinese he more than made up for with beads, feathers, and fringy handmade jackets with dream catchers sewn into the collars. Also, a mysterious ninja death cult staged his death to look like he had died jerking off while strangling himself. MYSTICISM.

Joe Armstrong (American Ninja)

Does anyone even remember the origin story for Joe Armstrong? I sure as hell don’t. I know he’s a ninja and he’s in the army and do we really need to know anything else? Joe Armstrong makes the list for single handedly carrying video rental chains through the 80’s. A ninja concerned with the success of small business? HOW AMERICAN.

Ken Masters (Street Fighter)

The ultimate white guy in martial arts video games: Ken Masters is the standard bearer. He’s a white guy that grew up with and trained in martial arts with a Japanese guy and they were like brothers and then the white guy became a Hollywood star but he never forgot his roots and when his Japanese brother needed him he tore the sleeves right off his gi and brought his hadukens to the party. Johnny Cage fan? GTFO.

Remember the Chun Li shower scene in this movie? Remember your buddy that was convinced you could buy an x rated version at the flea market?

Danny Rand (Invincible Iron Fist)

Danny Rand is amazing. He’s like Batman, but he’s not an unlikable prick. And instead of all that crap about needing a symbol, he was just like ‘eh, the kung fu is enough.’ Also, whereas Batman was like ‘ughhh my parents are deeeeead’ Iron Fist punched an ancient and powerful dragon in the heart.

I love Iron Fist. He’s my favorite Marvel super hero. If you haven’t read Brubaker and Fraction’s run of Iron Fist with David Aja, you should, because it’s pretty much perfect. It’s a fantastic mix of martial arts, Kung Fu mysticism, steampunk, Shaft, and dragons. In fact, it should be #1 on this list. #1 only has a few edges over it, and the big one is this: at the end of the day, Iron Fist is a prime example of ‘the white guy is best at it.’ It’s a testament to how good a read Invincible Iron First was that you can ignore it, but it’s kind of hard to ignore when comparing him to…

Jack Burton (Big Trouble in Little China)

Big Trouble in Little China is the perfect ‘white guy involved with Asian stuff’ movie. Jack is cocky, arrogant, handsome, occasionally lucky, and otherwise worthless. He’s a truck driver. He’s got no connection to the mystic Chinese martial arts underworld: he just wants to help his Chinese buddy Wang out and hopefully get his truck back. Plus, let Wang die? Not when the guy owes him nothing or double.

Jack doesn’t suddenly become better at the Chinese at what they do. Aside from one amazingly lucky moment (it’s all in the reflexes), he’s completely worthless. And yet, he manages to be a hero out of sheer awesomeness and bravery, or stubbornness and being an idiot, if you’d prefer. Like Iron Fist, Big Trouble is a ridiculous tale of Chinese mysticism in the Western World, but instead of the heir of a billion dollar corporation trained since birth to be King of the Chinese Guys, it’s a story that spotlights a typical blue collar American with a mullet that suddenly has to deal with the implications of an ancient Chinese gang war. He is as awed by his good friend Wang Chi’s martial prowess and of Egg Chen’s sorcery as we are, and instead of a sudden mastery of another culture’s skill, only three things get him out alive: luck, crackerjack timing, and a six demon bag. It’s by doing his best to help the martial arts masters, not becoming one, that he and Wang Chi are able to beat the bad guys, and really shake the pillars of heaven.

Geekscape 260: TMNT Co-Creator Kevin Eastman

by JonathanApril 11, 2012

If you’d have told me at age 10 that Kevin Eastman would be hanging out in my living room talking to me about co-creating the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, my head would have exploded! And you know what? It’s just as fantastic today! Kevin emailed me last week about coming on the show and we get right to business, talking about his upcoming Heritage Auction of original Ninja Turtles items, the new TMNT series from IDW, creating the Turtles, the Michael Bay controversy and his return to making comics! We also talk about his ownership and publication of Heavy Metal magazine, the different interpretations of TMNT over the years and why he really disliked the 2nd Ninja Turtles movie! This is a pretty awesome interview that is definitely going to be a favorite if you’re a Ninja Turtles fan or not! Cowabunga!

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